Desert Chase
by Kanetsu-no-Kaji
Summary: CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICSM IS ENCOURAGED. I am having a go at a more serious story. Shadow is given a mission in a Desert Country to retrieve the Chaos Emerald, and he gets help from a girl with great abilities. ShadowxOC, Rated for Mild Violence and Swearing.


Elemental Infantry- Part 1

Okay, this is my sad and sorry attempt at character development and an action/adventure story. For once, Constructive criticsm is welcome... just don't start stoning me for my fancharacter, okay?

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Welcome to Sabakuni- Land of Desert. Most of the time, when you hear 'desert' you think barren wasteland. Well, you can't call this region a wasteland if it's teeming with life now can you? The desert area is home to many things: humans, mobians, and animals alike. This region is also home to one of the most popular myths in history- a myth that several archaeologists and thieves have sought after, but have never lived to find it. The myth tells of a "tribe of the desert heat" that once lived many thousands of years ago. The greatest treasure of the tribe was the "Ruby of Fire". The ruby contained the might of the tribe itself, and thanks to that fact, and the greed of men- it was the subject of war. The ruby was sealed away in a temple and it was said that only the descendant of the chief would be able to access it. After the ruby was sealed, a great Diaspora of the tribe occurred, and apparently, no one has heard of them since… at least… until now. 

In Twilight City, the capital of Sabakuni, the market place was crowded and busy, with a wide variety of stores, and businesses. One of the more popular in the region was the weapons store. It usually got at least 50 customers per day, and it was well located. In this area of town, it was every man for himself. One did not know who to trust… The market owner- a raccoon- had slow business that day, and he desperately needed customers. His elbow rested on the counter, and his chin rested on his hand. He let out a weary sigh, and he tapped the tabletop with the fingers on his other hand. "Spare me Kami-san…" He quietly murmured, "Send me someone… ANYONE… someone who's willing to cut me a deal!"

"Excuse me sir…" A feminine voice quietly chimed into the store's walls. The owner's ears perked.

"Arigatô!" He thanked, looking to the sky, as if God had answered his call. "Yes, welcome to Twilight Weapons. We don't sell any automatic or semi-automatic machinery here. Just old fashioned, melee and combat weapons." He looked up at his customer. She was a young teenage hedgehog. She was a black hedgehog; her hair was tied into a ponytail using a small, garnet ring. Two bangs extended out in front of her face and they had orange flame-like highlights streaked on them. Similar designs were located on her beige-colored arms as well. She wore a pair of white jeans with a decorative flame streaking up the left leg. _Pyromaniac… _he thought to himself, a mangaesque sweat drop slid down his head... He found the girl to be slightly familiar, but he didn't know why.

"Hey, you! You have any type of license on you? This ain't a black market you know!"

She tossed her validation to the manager with swift motion. He caught it just in time. The small card had the kanji for "Heat" etched into it.

_Official Fire Veteran Kaji_

_DOB: October 14, 1992_

_Certified soldier of the Elemental Infantry_

The raccoon's jaw dropped. "Is that enough licensing for ya?" She asked, with a smirk. She plucked a small baton looking item off of a shelf. "I'll take this one." He chuckled at, "Kaji's" selection. "Well, Kaji-chan, that's the Kataju-heiki. The thing doesn't work for anybody, not even a fire veteran in the Infantry. The only one who can work that thing is one of pure Akanetsu blood. Prove to me you can use it, and you can take it for free."

The girl smiled with confidence. "Well, consider your bet lost, good sir." Flames shot out of the open end of the baton, causing the raccoon- by pure instinct- to hide under the counter. He peeked over the edge to see a perfectly forged blade at her disposal. She twirled the katana in her hand. "I know you have the second Kataju-heiki in here. I'll buy that one from you, full price." The dealer's gray, fuzzy ears perked at the sound of "full price". He smiled a large grin, ring signs in his eyes.

"It's a deal, miss!" He rigorously shook her hand, "That'll be R20, 000 please." The batons were worth more than anything in the boutique combined, because they were antiques. Kaji dished out an R50, 000 bill. "Keep the change." The marketer looked like he landed into high heaven as he held the bill to the sky, marveling at it. He laughed, almost maniacally, "I'm RICH!!!"

Kaji walked outside the store, taking her new weapons, and latching them onto her belt. She walked towards the direction of her home, looking left and right for any thieves. Unfortunately, she didn't get a thief, but rather, a speeding black blur headed in her direction. She wasn't quick enough to get out of the way, and "it" didn't slow down enough to stop the collision. "LOOK OUT!" it shouted at her, but it was too late. A very hard "object" made first contact with her head, and the two tumbled backwards into a food market's wall, creating a huge dent in its concrete structure. Fortunately, Kaji's fall was cushioned by what rammed into her in the first place. She tried to get up, but a jolt of pain launched itself through her body. _Damn it! I shouldn't hurt this much from a crash like that!_ She thought to herself. She forced her body to get up, in spite of it. "Next time, watch where you're going you speed demon!" She scolded. She looked down at the figure, and her jaw dropped. From the crumbling concrete, arose another black hedgehog. He looked only about a year or two older than her. His ebony spines were tainted with red, and he had a nice set of crimson eyes to match. His outfit was ruined, which consisted of a mahogany button-up, short sleeve shirt, and some slightly torn black jeans. He dusted himself off. "Excuse me, but weren't you the one who was in my way?" He scowled back. He had a voice to match his appearance- dark… but it was a handsome kind of dark that really caught her attention. He brushed the dirt off of his shoulders. "And don't give me that "Is that how you treat a lady" excuse either." He continued.

Kaji smiled, "Well, sir, you just redeemed yourself…" He just stared at her, not knowing what she meant. "I was about to start hating you, but you said just the right thing to change my mind… nice to know you're not one of prejudice." She extended her hand, to him. The bewildered foreigner took her hand in his and shook it. "Shadow… Shadow the Hedgehog." He introduced.

"Kaji." She replied back, not giving any hint of her sur name. "Uh… You want to elaborate?" He asked. Kaji gave a genuine smile, and replied, "Well, I just don't like anyone whose actions towards me are based upon my gender. It's an insult."

She started to walk towards another market- a pharmaceutical outlet. "So, where are you from? Obviously, you don't live around here, telling from your entrance."

"I come from… well, a long way from here."

"Telling from how fast you were, it wasn't long for you."

"Try the capital city."

"Oh, really? My brother lives in Central City."

Shadow couldn't believe he was making small talk with someone he just met… though she did have a certain vibe to her. She was friendly, but not smothering him. He still decided that he should be cautious, considering this city had a reputation for thieves. He was so spaced out on all of these things, that he didn't hear what she was saying. "Hello? Are you listening to me?"

Shadow slightly shook his head. "Huh?"

"I asked where do you hurt?"

"I'm fine, really…"

Kaji smirked at his reply. _I knew that already…_ She chuckled inwardly. "Male pride…" She said to the cobra at the counter. The snake smiled and shrugged with a 'What do you expect?' type of essence. Kaji continued the order. "Do you have any non-narcotic pain killers?" She nodded, "Yeah, we just got some new ones in stock." Setting the bottle out on the counter, then making with small talk. "Hey, Kaji, you hear about the prodigy from Emerald City?"

"Huh? No, I haven't…"  
"He's the guy that made this stuff. Only nineteen, and he's a professional chemist-"

"Excuse me, could we hurry this up please? I'm on a tight schedule." Shadow interrupted.

"Sorry." Kaji handed the woman an R10 bill, and took the painkillers. "Thanks!" The snake nodded "Oh, and Kaji! That guy… is he your..." Kaji winced.

"No. What the heck makes you think that?"

"I'm just asking! He's cute, but his manners need work…"

Shadow took out a canteen, and drank some water. He sat, resting against an alley wall. He clutched his head, for it was like his brain was bashing against his skull… He heard the annoying sound of the pill bottle come from Kaji. "So, are you fine now?" She snickered. "Shut up…" He replied back.

"Give me those," he commanded. She tossed the bottle, and he caught it with a firm grip. He unscrewed the cap and shook out 2 pills. He downed them with some water. He stood up, and put the canteen away. "Thanks for your help…I guess."

"No problem. Oh, and you owe me R10."

"What?"

"Not everything is free."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Fine…" But before Shadow could reach for his wallet, he felt a metal object to the side of his head.

"You should know Twilight City isn't the best place for hanging out in dark alleys." Crimson eyes darted to the left, catching a red raptor. Kaji was about to step forward, when she took notice of a katana to her neck.

"Ah, ah, ahh…" A heavy-set vulture mused, "We especially wouldn't want you getting hurt, now would we?" Kaji put her hands into the air. The sound of handcuffs clicking made its way towards her ears, as the raptor had seized Shadow. The vulture put away his katana and grabbed Kaji in a tight hold, making sure she didn't escape. (His hands were quite large, so they both practically wrapped around her.) Kaji's legs shook furiously in the air with repeated shouts of "Let me go! Let me go!" reminding Shadow of an all too familiar, hyperactive bee.

"Good job boys," A female voice echoed from the shadow of the alley. From that shadow emerged a navy blue sparrow. She wore revealing, tight, black leather attire, and indigo colored boots. Clearly she was the leader, because her comrades replied with a "Thank you, boss".

"So what have we got here?" She first examined Shadow, with great interest, and a sly smile, "Ooh, handsome devil we've got here…" She stroked his chin with her slender index finger. Shadow jerked his head away from her touch with a scoff. "Feisty too." The raptor moved out of the way, and his leader shoved Shadow against the wall. He grimaced, as his cheek was pressed uncomfortably against brick. She began to frisk the black hedgehog, searching for anything of value, and also taking her time to examine his body's form as well. As she moved down to his mid section, she stroked his hypersensitive tail, watching it frizz to the foreign touch. Then grabbed the wallet out of his back pocket. She inspected it, looking through all of its contents. It was loaded with R25, 000 in bills, a credit card, and his ID.

"Your charity is much appreciated, 'Shadow'" She snickered, taking the cash, and tossing the wallet to the ground. She walked over to Kaji next. "Oh, you did a fine job Arashi. You managed to catch an Akanetsu! A fine one too… you get a bonus."

Kaji looked sour. For A.) She had just given away her secret, and B.) She was bisexual… this would not go well.

"Really? Thank you Raven!" Arashi replied. Shadow rolled his eyes. "This girl has them in the palm of her hand…" Arashi released Kaji, and Raven- without hesitation- slammed Kaji into the wall the same way she had done to Shadow, and searched her- except she took a little bit longer, and slower to look. Kaji clenched her eyes shut, wanting it to be over. However, for one hedgehog, it was the last straw when she moved for _her_ back pockets. A grunt of disdain was heard behind her. The raptor was on the ground, clutching his face, blood dripping at the corner of his mouth. "Aw, Sonuma-" He was karate chopped in the back of his neck, and rendered unconscious. Raven, Kaji, and Arashi looked at Shadow. His eyes narrowed, and he broke the handcuffs with a quick snap. "Let the girl go, and I promise I won't have to do collateral damage."

Raven snapped her fingers. The vulture cracked his knuckles. "You're half my size… what the hell could you possibly do?"

"This." Shadow replied as he teleported behind Arashi and delivered a mid-air swift kick to his back. The scavenger flew into the wall, leaving it imprinted with his shape. He fell beside his comrade, also unconscious. Kaji took the opportunity to slip her foot behind her captor's and trip her. Before Raven could hit the ground, Kaji sent her knee into the bird's back, causing to fly upwards. She performed a vertical triangle jump between the narrow walls, and slammed her back down. Shadow's eyes widened.

"Holy-" he was cut off by the sound of the renegade hitting the ground. He blinked, and Kaji landed gracefully before him. She handed him R24, 980. "Here you go."

"Where's the other 20?" He asked.

"You owe me… remember?"  
"And the other ten…?"

"I thought I'd treat myself." She smirked. Shadow merely shook his head. Not to mention, he just found out that this girl was of Akanetsu blood.

"You're one HELL of a smart-ass… and I just met you…"

Kaji shrugged. "It's a curse."

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Okay, I have NOTHING against bisexuals, homosexuals, etc. Kaji, Arashi, Raven and the red raptor are all (c) to me, and Shadow is (c) Sonic Team. 


End file.
